Page 75 of The Duke Who Claimed Her

Caspian stepped from the room and closed the door behind him. He might have liked to have secured Mr. Tibbs so that he could not escape, but Timothy was on his mind. And if he knew Timothy as he thought that he did, then he knew exactly where the boy had run to.

Sure enough, Caspian sprinted through the manor and burst onto the third floor. Down the hallway next, and he came to an abrupt halt when he found the large man on his knees, underneath a table in the hallway, pawing at the crawlspace where Timothy was hiding.

“Get back here,” the large man snarled.

Caspian strode down the hallway. He held the pistol like a baton. And by the time the large man realized what was happening, the butt of the pistol was being driven into the large man’s skull with a thwack.

The effect saw the large man’s body turn stiff, followed quickly by a thump as he collapsed onto the floor. Out cold.

“Timothy…” Caspian crouched down and softened his voice. “You can come out now.”

Timothy poked his head out, and to the boy’s credit, he did not look scared. “Did you get them?” he asked.

Caspian laughed. “Almost. Do you have someplace else to hide, Timothy? Somewhere they will not find you?”

Timothy grinned. “I do. Lots of places.”

“Good. Go there. Hide. And do not come out until I call for you. Do you understand?”

Timothy crawled from his hiding place, but he did not make a run for it. Rather, he looked at Caspian with obvious concern. “Is Arabella… Is she in danger?”

“She is,” Caspian said, seeing no need to lie. “But she will not be for long. Trust me, Timothy. I will find her. I promise.”

In response, Timothy threw himself at Caspian. His little arms wrapped around Caspian’s neck, and he held him as if in so doing no harm could come to him. And Caspian, not expecting the gesture, accepted it, holding Timothy back, wanting to never let go.

This is what it means to love another…

“Now go,” Caspian said as he pulled away. “Quickly, Timothy.”

Timothy did as he was told, darting down the hallway and vanishing from sight. With that taken care of, Caspian made his way back to his study.

“Mr. Tibbs.” Caspian stepped into his study, closed the door, and pointed his pistol at Mr. Tibbs. The gangly man was on his knees, blood pouring from his face, and the cool confidence he had been possessed of moments ago was nowhere to be seen. “You and I have much to discuss.”

Mr. Tibbs spoke quickly after that.

The large man who now had two missing eyes sat on the floor, weeping and thoroughly defeated. Mr. Tibbs skulked back to his chair, sat down, and told Caspian everything he wished to know.

“She is being held in a small cabin to the west of here,” he said bitterly and with a snarl. “Just beyond Rumheshire Grove. If you follow the main road, you cannot miss it.”

“Thank you for that,” Caspian said to him. “Now, as to what to do with you…” He eyed the large man with no eyes, figuring that for now, he was not a problem. “I would like to tie you up, but I am out of rope. And seeing as I cannot just leave you here…” He smirked down at Mr. Tibbs so he might see what Caspian had in mind.

Mr. Tibbs’s eyes widened. “No! Ple—” His plea was cut short as Caspian drove the butt of the pistol into the side of his head, knocking him out cold.

“Three down, one to go…”

As Caspian made his way through the manor, he ran through as many scenarios as he could for overpowering the final armed thug. The man had a pistol, as well as several hostages, and while Caspian could have burst into the dining room and taken his chances, that would have put people’s lives at risk.

What he needed was to be careful, sneaky, and catch the man by surprise somehow. Or, barring that, he could have used some help.

As it turned out, the second option became available.

It was as Caspian started down the stairway that the front door burst open and in charged none other than George and six armed men.

“Caspian!” George cried when he saw him. “Have you started the search? The Dowager told us everything!”

“George…” Caspian sighed with relief as he went to his best friend. “Your timing is impeccable.”

“Caspian…” George took note of the pistol. “Why do you have a gun?”